Applications of HILIC for targeted and non-targeted LC/MS analyses in drug discovery

Small molecule biomarker discovery: Proposed workflow for LC-MS-based clinical research projects

Mass spectrometry focusing on small endogenous molecules has become an integral part of biomarker discovery in the pursuit of an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiology of various diseases, ultimately enabling the application of personalized medicine. While LC-MS methods allow researchers to gather vast amounts of data from hundreds or thousands of samples, the successful execution of a study as part of clinical research also requires knowledge transfer with clinicians, involvement of data scientists, and interactions with various stakeholders. The initial planning phase of a clinical research project involves specifying the scope and design, and engaging relevant experts from different fields. Enrolling subjects and designing trials rely largely on the overall objective of the study and epidemiological considerations, while proper pre-analytical sample handling has immediate implications on the quality of analytical data. Subsequent LC-MS measurements may be conducted in a targeted, semi-targeted, or non-targeted manner, resulting in datasets of varying size and accuracy. Data processing further enhances the quality of data and is a prerequisite for in-silico analysis. Nowadays, the evaluation of such complex datasets relies on a mix of classical statistics and machine learning applications, in combination with other tools, such as pathway analysis and gene set enrichment. Finally, results must be validated before biomarkers can be used as prognostic or diagnostic decision-making tools. Throughout the study, quality control measures should be employed to enhance the reliability of data and increase confidence in the results. The aim of this graphical review is to provide an overview of the steps to be taken when conducting an LC-MS-based clinical research project to search for small molecule biomarkers.

Mixed-Mode Hydrophilic Interactions/Reversed-Phase Retention Mechanism in Thin-Layer Chromatography

We investigated the dual retention mechanism in thin-layer chromatography taking place on three stationary phases of different polarity (C-18, plain silica gel and DIOL) and using binary mobile phases composed of acetonitrile as the main component and water, or methanol as a modifier. As the test analytes, we selected a set of 12 compounds of pharmaceutical importance and considerably different chemical structure, i.e. the imidazoline and serotonin receptor ligands, and their related compounds. Retention of each analyte in each investigated chromatographic system was determined in a wide enough range of the mobile phase composition, with volume fraction of the mobile phase modifier ranging from 0.10 to 0.90. Calculation of the exact turning point values as a proof of occurrence of the reversed-phase hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC/RP) retention mechanism was based on the multimodal retention model. The dual retention mode was described with the use of the volume fraction of the mobile phase modifier, the total polarity and the total solubility models. For the DIOL, C-18 and silica gel stationary phase, the dual (HILIC/RP) retention mechanism was confirmed. In the case of the DIOL stationary phase and acetonitrile/methanol mobile phase, the observed retention mechanism was more complicated than the dual HILIC/RP one.

Development of an LC-MS Targeted Metabolomics Methodology to Study Proline Metabolism in Mammalian Cell Cultures

A growing interest in metabolomics studies of cultured cells requires development not only untargeted methods capable of fingerprinting the complete metabolite profile but also targeted methods enabling the precise and accurate determination of a selected group of metabolites. Proline metabolism affects many crucial processes at the cellular level, including collagen biosynthesis, redox balance, energetic processes as well as intracellular signaling. The study aimed to develop a robust and easy-to-use targeted metabolomics method for the determination of the intracellular level of proline and the other two amino acids closely related to proline metabolism: glutamic acid and arginine. The method employs hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography followed by high-resolution, accurate-mass mass spectrometry for reliable detection and quantification of the target metabolites in cell lysates. The sample preparation consisted of quenching by the addition of ice-cold methanol and subsequent cell scraping into a quenching solution. The method validation showed acceptable linearity (r > 0.995), precision (%RSD < 15%), and accuracy (88.5–108.5%). Pilot research using HaCaT spontaneously immortalized human keratinocytes in a model for wound healing was performed, indicating the usefulness of the method in studies of disturbances in proline metabolism. The developed method addresses the need to determine the intracellular concentration of three key amino acids and can be used routinely in targeted mammalian cell culture metabolomics research.

A strategy for the targeted metabolomics analysis of 11 gut microbiota-host co-metabolites in rat serum, urine and feces by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Microbiota-host co-metabolites are well-known to play important physiological roles, and their dysregulation has been found to be closely related to various diseases, including but not limited to inflammatory disorders. We developed herein an original and feasible method using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The method developed enables rapid quantification of 11 key gut microbiota-host co-metabolites spanning the succinate, phenylacetylglutamine, hippurate and trimethylamine metabolic pathways within 10 min. With this method, we were able to simultaneously monitor inflammation-induced alterations of these metabolites in rat serum, urine and feces matrices. The measured levels for this panel of endogenous metabolites ranged from 0.001 to 172.8 μg m L(-1). The intra- and inter-day precision of three analytes was less than 13.1% and the accuracy was between -13.0 to 11.2% for all QC levels. The extraction recoveries in serum ranged from 85.4 to 103.2%, while the RSD was 9.0% or less for all recoveries. In addition, extraction recoveries of 11 analytes in urine and feces samples were between 85.7% and 102.0% and RSD was less than 9.5%. The method developed here has been successfully applied to the analysis of real samples from 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced Crohn's disease in rats. All of these results suggest that the presently developed method is sufficiently sensitive and robust to simultaneously monitor co-metabolites with diverse properties and a range of different concentrations. Therefore, this method will be expected to be useful for comprehensive studies of the pathophysiological roles and mechanisms of these key microbiota-host co-metabolites, which reflect the function of the intestine, consequently offering novel opportunities for evaluating the occurrence, development and therapeutic effects of diseases related to microbiota disturbances.

Separation of carnitine and acylcarnitines in biological samples: a review

Carnitine and its acylesters are a family of compounds that can be used in the early diagnosis of many diseases. Carnitine and acylcarnitines have a crucial role in fatty acid transportation. The increased level of free carnitine, total carnitine, or the acylesters can act as biomarkers for many metabolic disorders, including diabetes, encephalopathy and cardiomyopathy. The determination of these compounds is difficult owing to the simple aliphatic structure, the chiral center and the permanent positive charge. Although MS detection can be enough to differentiate between some carnitine derivatives, closely related structural isomers of the acylcarnitines must be separated before detection because they form the same base peak and second most abundant ion peak. Different separation methods are discussed in this review, including reversed-phase, hydrophilic interaction, ion exchange, ion pairing, mixed mode liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and electrophoresis. Representative example chromatograms are shown. The sample preparation and the different derivatization reactions are also covered. A table that summarizes the most important analytical methods by detailing the analyte mixture, the sample matrix, the separation mode and the detection method is provided.

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography in drug analysis

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is an increasingly popular alternative to conventional HPLC for drug analysis. It offers increased selectivity and sensitivity, and improved efficiency when quantifying drugs and related compounds in complex matrices such as biological and environmental samples, pharmaceutical formulations, food, and animal feed. In this review we summarize HILIC methods recently developed for drug analysis (2006–2011). In addition, a list of important applications is provided, including experimental conditions and a brief summary of results. The references provide a comprehensive overview of current HILIC applications in drug analysis.